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From Beau’s All Natural Brewing in Vankleek Hill Ontario comes their “The Bottle Imp” Russian Imperial Coffee Stout. This brew is the 9th beer in Beau’s pro-am series. The beer pours an opaque black colour with a brown head. The aroma consists of coffee, ash, roasted malts and dark chocolate. The flavour is of bitter coffee, hops bitterness, earth, burnt malts, dark chocolate, hint of vanilla, ash with resin in the finish. The alcohol content comes in at 9% with an IBU of 81. If you enjoy a good bitter Russian Imperial Stout with a big coffee hit this one is definitely for you.

Commercial Description: The Bottle Imp is a strong, dark, roasty and rich creation. This rendition of a Russian Imperial Stout is also infused with a blend of Nicaraguan and Guatemalan fair-trade organic coffee. Complex and contemplative, and with well-integrated alcohol warmth, The Bottle Imp is best served in a snifter, sipped slowly and savoured. eau’s first brewed The Bottle Imp in 2013 as part of its Pro-Am Series. The recipe was co-created with David Thompson, who won the Toronto Beer Week Homebrew Contest and the prize of coming to Beau’s for a day to brew a beer. In 2014 The Bottle Imp took Bronze at the Canadian Brewing Awards, as well as first place at the National Organic Craft Beer Competition in California. The Russian Imperial Stout is brewed to weigh in high on alcohol, with the roasted, malty character typical of a stout. These imperial stouts were first brewed in England in the 18th century, and exported to Russia for the pleasure of Czarina Catherine II and her court. And the name? The Bottle Imp is a haunting turn-of-the-century tale by Robert Louis Stevenson about risking eternal damnation of the soul to have everything on earth one’s heart desires. We suggest pairing the beer and the story on a cold night by a crackling fire.